Shoe provided with resiliently yieldable element



'July 29, 1958 I J. MELTZER 2,844,891

SHOE PROVIDED WITH RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE ELEMENT Filed Aug. 2, 1955 4Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR: (/ACK MEL 7-25 July 29, 1958 J. MELTZER2,844,391

SHOE PROVIDED WITH RESILIBNTLY YIELDABLE ELEMENT Filed Aug. 2, i955 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: JA CK MEL 7'25? July 29, 1958 4. MELTZER2,844,891

SHOE PROVIDED WITH RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE ELEMENT 4 Shegts-Sheet 3 FiledAug. 2, 1955 July 29,195

J. MELTZER Filed Aug. 2, 1955 SHOE PROVIDED WITH RESILIENTLY YIELDABLEELEMENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Jac M64 r2 5 merely examples.

United States Patent SHOE PROVIDED WITH RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE ELEMENTThe present invention relates generally to shoes, and has particularreference to the type of shoe in which the sole structure includes asock lining, and in which there is at least one shoe element above thesock lining adapted to yield resiliently when the shoe is worn.

One type of yieldable shoe element is exemplified by the elasticbridging piece that is sometimes used in the shank region to lie beneaththe foot of the wearer and to exert a continuous resilient upwardpressure upon the foot. Other shoe elements of the resiliently yieldabletype are straps adapted to extend around the foot when the shoe is worn,or thongs that extend upwardly from the forward part of the solestructure in certain types of shoes and lie between the toes of thefoot. It is a general object of the invention to improve the appearance,wearing quality, and comfort of an article of footwear in which suchyieldable elements are employed, either singly or in combinations.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide the desiredyieldability by elastic means that are firmly anchored to the solestructure, yet do not impair the softness and attractive appearance ofthe exposed part of the sole structure. The invention is for this reasonparticularly useful in shoes of the presently fashionable kind in whicha covered insole body is completely exposed except for relatively thinstripping or the like adapted to extend around the foot and constitutinga skeleton type upper. It is this general type of footwear in connectionwith which the provision of resiliently yieldable shoe elements, such asbridging pieces and thongs and foot-enveloping straps are especiallydesirable.

The basic features of the new construction are applicable to a widevariety of shoe styles, and the embodiments of the invention hereinchosen for illustration are As will be pointed out, the construction canbe employed in shoes manufactured in accordance with the well-knownslip-lasting process, if desired.

These general objectives and advantages can be achieved in the mannerillustratively exemplified in the drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is aperspective view of a shoe embodying the features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of some of the parts entering into theconstruction of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts of Fig. 2 shown in partiallycompleted assembly, one region of Fig. 3 being broken away to reveal theparts that lie beneath;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the parts shown in Figs. 2 and 3, at afurther stage of completion; 7

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view substantially on the line 5-5of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view on the line 6- 6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of some of the elements entering into amodified construction, shown in partially complete relationship;

Fig. 8 is an exploded view of the parts entering into the assembly ofFig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the assembly of Fig. 7, with the shieldsomitted;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 with the shields in position;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged cross section along the line 11-11 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 illustrating a modification;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary perspective illustrating a slight modificationin the construction shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. l4'is a fragmentary view similar to the right-hand end of Fig. 5,illustrating a modification;

Fig. 15 is a View similar to Fig. 4 illustrating a modification; and

Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 5, taken substantiallyalong the line 1616 of Fig. 15 and showing the assembly of Fig. 15 aspart of a complete shoe.

In the shoe I have chosen for illustration in Fig. 1 the sole structureconsists of the inner sole 20, a Wedgie type heel 21, and an outer sole22 (which may or may not be provided with the additional underlyingouter heel 23). The structure includes a bridging piece 24 normallyelevated above the level of the sock lining beneath it, and constantlyexerting an upward pressure on the foot of the wearer. The upper of theshoe illustrated consists of the so-called sling quarter orheel-engaging strap element 25, and a pair of straps 26 and 27 adaptedto extend around the foot of the wearer.

The inner sole 20 consists essentially of an insole body and a socklining that envelops it. The insole body 28 (Fig. 2) may consist of twoor more layers of selected material, and I have chosen to show a bottomlayer 29 of relatively thin but stiff material such as leather, fibercomposition, or the like, and a relatively thick but resiliently softupper layer 30 composed, for example, of foam rubber or the like. Theinsole body may include also a resiliently soft heel padding element 39which is best shown in Fig. 5.

The covering for this insole element consists of a sock lining part 31adapted to overlie and extend around the central and rear part of theinsole body 28, and a forward piece 32. The latter is of a size andshape to extend around the forward end of the insole body 28, and at thestepped regions 33 the piece 32 narrows and the rear part tapers asshown. This narrower tapered part of the element 32 constitutes thebridging piece 24 which, in the finished shoe, lies above and normallyspaced from the sock lining 31. The rear end of the bridging piece 24 isstitched as at 34 to an elastic or stretchable member 35. The socklining 31 is provided with a transverse aperture 36 having a length justsufiicient to permit the rear end of the bridging piece 24 to passthrough it (see Fig. 3). The rear end of the stretchable member 35 isanchored to the sole structure either by stitching it as shown at 37 tothe insole body 28, or by stitching it as shown at 37 (Fig. 14) to therear region of the sock lining 31.

It is to be observed that the stretchable element 35 lies in itsentirety beneath the sock lining 31. This is a feature of the inventionbecause the exposed surface of the inner sole assembly is thuscompletely unmarred by the presence of extraneous unattractive materialsuch as elastic ribbing or the like. Also the freedom of movement of therear end of the bridging element 24 through the aperture 36 is reliableand sure. 7

Under certain circumstances it might be desirable to reverse thearrangement of parts 31 :and 32'. This is shown in Figs. 15 and 16. Asock lining piece 31a is shaped to fit around the forward end of theinsole body,

and is provided with a transverse aperture 36a. The bridging piece 24ais a forwardly extending integral part of the rear sock lining element32a and is thus firmly anchored at the rear of the shoe. The forward endof the bridging piece passes downwardly through the aperture 36a and issecured to an elastic 35a lying underneath the part 31a and anchored bystitching 37a. This arrangement has the advantage that the aperture maybe concealed from view by the vamp portion of the upper, also the actionof the bridging piece would have a massaging effect upon the toes of thewearer. In Figs. and 16 the upper or vamp, including straps or the. likeintended to engage around the foot of the wearer, have been omitted forthe sake of simplicity of illustration.

The strap is provided at one end with a stretchable member 40, and thiselastic also lies in its entirety beneath the sock lining. With thisobjective in view the sock lining is provided, in addition to thetransverse aperture 36, with the longitudinal relatively short aperture41 adjacent to the side edge 42 of the sock lining. The extreme end ofthe stretchable member is stitched at 43 (Fig. 3) to the opposite sideedge of the sole structure, and the strap 25 extends upwardly throughthe aperture 41, loops around to define the desired heelengaging sling"and the opposite end 44 of this strap is anchored in any suitable ordesired manner beneath the inner sole 20, preferably being adhesivelyanchored between the inner sole 20 and the underlying heel piece 21.Obviously, if desired, the end 44 of the strap 25 may be provided withelastic means similar to that shown at 40, and similarly anchored inposition, but in most cases it is sufficient to have one end only of thestrap 25 yieldably anchored.

The aperture 41 may be employed also to permit passage through it of oneend of the strap 26, this end being stitched to a stretchable member 45which lies in its entirety beneath the sock lining 31 and is secured tothe insole body by stitching, as shown at 46 (Fig. 3).

A similar construction is employed to anchor the strap 27, one end ofwhich is stitched to a stretchable member 47 that lies in its entiretybeneath the sock lining 31. The strap 27 extends up through the socklining through a longitudinal aperture 48 similar to the aperture 41 butadjacent to the opposite side edge of the sock lining. The elasticmember 47 is stitched to the insole body at its end as indicated at 49in Fig. 3.

The opposite or forward ends of the straps 26 and 27 may be anchored inposition without benefit of elasticity, in any desired manner, and Ihave found it suitable to secure these ends adhesively in sandwichedrelationship between the inner sole 20 and the outer sole 22.

The finished shoe is attractive in appearance and extremely comfortableand wearable, notwithstanding its skeleton-like upper No ugly elasticsare apparent. The

top surface of the inner sole at its rear end is free of encumbrances,soft and comfortable. The strap 25 will cling to the heel of the foot ofthe wearer, more comfortably and more efficiently than any buckle orbuckling arrangement could achieve. Similarly, the shoe is held to theforward part of the foot by the yieldably elastic straps 26, 27, coupledwith the gentle upward pressure of the bridging piece 24.

As heretofore mentioned in connection with the elastic 35, the elastics40, 45 and 47 may be anchored to the sock lining itself, asdistinguished from the underlying insole body, but the constructionillustrated is preferable in most cases. The anchorage to the socklining itself may be expeditious where the shoe is constructed inaccordance with slip-lasting procedures.

In Fig. 13 I have illustrated a construction in which the transverseaperture in the rear region of the sock lining (corresponding to theaperture 36 in Fig. 2) is formed by constructing the sock lining of twooverlapping areas 50 and 51. By stitching the overlapping parts onlypartially, as indicated by the stitches at the sides 52 and 53, theunattached region between, designated 54, constitutes an aperturethrough which the rear end of the bridging element may extend.

Under certain circumstances the yieldably resilient element can beadvantageously extended downwardly not only through an aperture in thesock lining but through a registering aperture in the underlying insolebody, the elastic means being disposed entirely in the region beneaththe insole body. Such a construction is illustrated in Figs. 7-ll, theseillustrations showing also some additional features of the invention.

The insole body may consist, as before, of a lower layer 55 and an uppersoft layer 56 (Fig. 8). Overlying this insole body and enveloping itaround its periphery is a sock lining 57 which, in this case, extendsfor the full length of the shoe in the form of a single piece ofmaterial. Near the heel region the sock lining is provided with a pairof spaced but aligned apertures 53 adjacent to one side edge of the solestructure, and with a similar pair of apertures 59 adjacent to theopposite side edge. In the medial part of the forward region a singlelongitudinal aperture is provided. In the insole body itself there areregistering apertures 60a, 58a, and 59a.

The upper structure in this case consists of a single element 61 shapedto define downwardly extending straps 62 and 63 in the rear region, anda single downwardly extending thong 64 in the forward region. In eachcase, the strap ends are bifurcated, and each fork is secured to alength of stretchable elastic. The stretchable members 65, secured tothe thong 64 are passed downwardly through the registering apertures 60and 60a and then extend laterally in opposite directions as bestindicated in Fig. 9. One of the stretchable members 65 is secured bystitching 66 to the insole body adjacent to one side edge thereof, andthe other elastic 65 is similarly secured as at 67 to the opposite sideedge.

Similarly the strap 62 is provided with stretchable members 68, and thestrap 63 with elastic members 69. After being passed downwardly throughthe registering apertures 58 and 58a, the elastics are anchored as at 70to one side edge of the sole structure (see Fig. 9), and in a similarfashion the stretchable members 69 are anchored to the opposite sideedge as shown at 71.

In this construction, shielding strips 72 and 73 are laid over theelastics in the forward and rear regions of the assembly prior to thecompletion of the enveloping procedure. That is, the marginal parts ofthe sock lining 57 are not drawn around and adhesively secured inposition, as shown in Fig. 10, until after the shielding pieces 72 and73 have been laid in position. This prevents adhesive from interferingwith the smooth stretching movements of the members 65, 68 and 69.Obviously, if desired, the shields 72 and 73 may be merged in the formof a single shielding piece extending for the full length, or almost thefull length, of the sole structure. Or, if desired, the shields may beomitted, but in that case special care must be taken during theapplication of the outer sole, to prevent adhesive from impairing thesmooth functioning of the elastics.

The bifurcation of the thong 64 avoids any one-sided downward pull uponthe thong, and strengthens the anchorage. The bifurcation of each of thestraps 2 and 63 fulfils a different purpose, in that the apertures inthis region may be made shorter, and also the downward movements of thestraps 62, 63 is limited in extent, being halted when the regions 74 and75 encounter the upper surface of the socklining 57.

In Fig. 12 I have shown the possibility of modifying the construction byanchoring the elastics 65 (designated 65!: in Fig. 12) to the sole bodywithout extending the thong entirely through the sole body. In thiscase, the thong extends downwardly only through an aperture 6% in thesock lining 57a, and the thong ends and the elastics 65 are disposed inthe space between the insole body and the sock lining. Under certaincircumstances this modified construction may be desirable.

It will be understood that some of the features described andillustrated in connection with. Figs. 1-6 may be incorporated in a shoeof the kind indicated in Figs. 7-11, and vice versa. Many variations instyle and design are obviously possible, while still employing some orall of the basic features of the invention. In general it will beunderstood that many of the details herein described and illustrated maybe modified by those skilled in the art without necessarily departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention What I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shoe, a sole structure including a sock lining, the rear part ofthe sock lining having an aperture therein extending along a transverseline just forward of the heel region, a bridging element having itsfront end anchored to the forward region of the sole structure and arear end extending downwardly through said aperture to a concealedposition beneath said socket lining, and a stretchable elasticconnecting said rear end of the bridging element to the rear edgeportion of the sole structure.

2. In a shoe including a sock lining and an underlying sole body, saidsock lining having margins enveloping the edges of said sole body andbeing anchored thereto, said sock lining having a transverse aperturetherein, a bridging element adapted to underlie the foot of the wearerand having a concealed part extending rearwardly down through saidaperture into the space between the sole body and the overlying socklining, the bridging element having a medial region overlying anddisconnected from said sock lining and a forward region anchored to saidsole body, and an elastic connector between said concealed part of thebridging element and the rear end edge region of the sole body, saidconnector being secured to said sole body by stitching extendingtherethrough. 3. In a shoe, the structure defined in claim 2, in whichthe medial region of the bridging element is narrower than the sole bodyand the forward region is Wider and is anchored by having its marginsextend :around and envelope the edges of the sole body.

4. In a shoe, a sole structure including a sock lining with a transverseaperture therein, a bridging piece having one end anchored to the solestructure at one end of the shoe and its opposite end extendingdownwardly through said aperture, and a stretchable elastic connectingsaid last-mentioned end of the bridging piece to the sole structure,said elastic lying in its entirety beneath said sock lining, the medialpart of said bridging piece being narrower than said sole structure andfree of connection thereto except at the front and rear.

5. In a shoe, the combination of parts defined in claim 4, said apertureterminating short of the side edges of the sock lining, said sock liningcomprising one piece of material lying rearward of said aperture andanother piece of material lying forwardly thereof, said pieces beingonly partially secured to each other so that the unattached parts definesaid aperture between them.

6. In a shoe, a sole structure including a sole body and a sock liningoverlying said sole body, the margins of the sock lining extendingaround and enveloping the edges of the sole body in the medial and rearregions of the shoe, said sock lining having a transverse aperture alonga line just forward of the heel region thereof, a bridging piece havinga forward end anchored to the sole body at the front end of the shoe,said forward end of the bridging piece having margins extending aroundand enveloping the edges of the sole body in the forward region of theshoe, said bridging piece having a medial part narrower than the solestructure and free of connection thereto except at the front and rear,said bridging piece having a rear end extending downwardly through saidaperture,

and a stretchable elastic lying in its entirety beneath the heel regionof the sock lining and connecting the rear end of the bridging piece tothe rear end edge of the sole body.

7. In a shoe, a sole structure including 'an insole body and a socklining overlying it and having a marginal part extending around andenclosing the edges of the insole body, said'sock lining having anaperture therein, a shoe element above the sock lining and having an endextending downwardly through said aperture, and an elastic stretchableelement sandwiched in its entirety between said sock lining and insolebody and connecting said end to an edge portion of the sole structurerelatively remote from said aperture, said shoe element being a bridgingpiece adapted to underlie the foot of the wearer.

8. In a shoe, a sole structure comprising an insole body, a sock liningoverlying said body and extending from one end thereof to a point shortof the other end thereof, said sock lining having a marginal partextending around and enclosing the edge of the body, said sock liningalso having a transverse aperture therein, another insole-covering pieceoverlying the other end of said body and having a marginal partextending around and enclos-' ing the edge of the body, said coveringpiece including a bridging part in the medial region of the shoeoverlying the sock lining and free of attachment thereto, said parthaving its end extending downwardly through said aperture, and elasticmeans lying in its entirety beneath said sock lining and connecting saidend to the end edge portion of the sole structure.

9. In a shoe, the sole structure defined in claim 8, said sock liningoverlying the rear end of said insole body and said covering pieceoverlying the forward end thereof.

10. In a shoe, a sole structure including a sock lining, said socklining having an aperture therein, a shoe element above the sock liningand having an end extending downwardly through said aperture to aposition beneath said sock lining, and elastic means entirely beneathsaid sock lining and connecting said end to a relatively remote portionof the sole structure whereby said shoe element is adapted to yieldresiliently when the shoe is worn, said sole structure including aninner sole and an outer sole, said shoe element being a bridging pieceadapted to underlie the foot of the wearer, said bridging pieceextending forwardly from said aperture and including a medial regionfree of attachment to the sole structure and a forward region whosemargin envelopes the edge of the inner sole and extends into anchoreddisposition between the inner and the outer sole.

11. In a shoe including a sock lining and an underlying sole body, saidsock lining having margins enveloping the edges of said sole body andbeing anchored thereto, said sock lining having a transverse aperturetherein, a bridging element adapted to underlie the foot of the wearerand having a concealed part extending rearwardly down through saidaperture into the space between the sole body and the overlying socklining, the bridging element having a medial region overlying anddisconnected from said sock lining and a forward region anchored to saidsole body,

and an elastic connector between said concealed part of the bridgingelement and the rear end edge region of the sock lining, said connectorbeing secured to said sock lining by stitching extending therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,024,729 Gustin Dec. 17, 1935 2,317,870 Weinstat Apr. 27, 19432,526,940 Fello Oct. 24, 1950 2,595,643 Daugherty May 6, 1952 2,601,227Sachs Oct. 12, 1954 2,707,342 Maccarone May 3, 1955 2,761,225 Lo PrestiSept. 4, 1956 2,776,503 Maccarone Jan. 8, 1957

